2008 Toyota Tacoma

I am reporting a serious safety incident with my 2008 Toyota Tacoma. While driving at approximately 65 mph on the highway last week, my spare tire detached from the vehicle (unknown at that time). The Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) light activated, and I later discovered the spare had broken free and fallen off. This was unknown until a week later when the dealership said the TPMS went off due to a missing spare tire. The failure was caused by severe corrosion of the spare tire carrier/hoist assembly, which gave way without warning. This created an immediate highway hazard for vehicles behind me. Toyota has previously issued recalls for spare tire carrier corrosion on earlier Sequoia and Tundra models. However, my 2008 model year was not included — yet the exact defect has now occurred. This is not a matter of convenience or maintenance. A spare tire falling off at highway speeds is a life-safety defect that should be investigated by Toyota and NHTSA before someone is seriously injured or killed.

HEAD LIGHT LENS HAVE STRESS CRACKS, HOLD MOISTURE AND ARE NOT CLEAR AND DIMINISHES THE VISIBILITY FOR THE BULB TO WORK PROPERLY AND DRIVER TO BE ABLE TO SEE AT NIGHT. THE LENS ARE NOT CLEAR AND HAVE TURNED TO A YELLOWISH COLOR. THIS STARTED HAPPENING WITHIN TWO YEARS AFTER I PURCHASED THE TRUCK NEW IN 2008 LUG NUTS. TUSCALOOSA TOYOTA TELLS ME OVER A YEAR AGO THAT I HAVE SWOLLEN LUG NUTS. TUSCALOOSA TOYOTA HAS DONE ALL OF MY SERVICE WORK AND THE ONLY ONES THAT HAVE TOUCHED THESE LUG NUTS. THEY HAVE CAUSE THE PROBLEM BY NOT USING THE CORRECT SOCKET BUT THEY WANT ME TO PAY FOR REPLACEMENT. THEY SHOULD REPLACE THEM BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE HAS TOUCHED THEM. I AM HAPPY WITH MY TRUCK BUT VERY UNSATISFIED WITH THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP NOT TAKING CARE OF THESE TWO DEFECTIVE PARTS THAT HAS TO DO WITH SAFETY.

VEHICLE STATIONARY IN DRIVEWAY. TIRES ARE THE SAME SPECS AS ORIGINAL TIRES. WHEN TIRES ARE INFLATED TO RECOMMENDED PRESSURE (DOOR PLACARD) THE LOW TIRE PRESSURE WARNING LIGHT COMES ON. I CONSULTED WITH 3 DIFFERENT TOYOTA DEALERS REGARDING THIS PROBLEM. NO ONE WAS ABLE TO GIVE ME AN ANSWER. MEANWHILE, OVER INFLATION IS REQUIRED TO KEEP WARNING SYSTEM OFF. WHAT IS THE CORRECT TIRE PRESSURE??? OVER / UNDER INFLATION IS A SAFETY RISK. AN INACCURATE WARNING SYSTEM IS ALSO A SAFETY RISK.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA TACOMA. WHILE DRIVING AT A LOW SPEED, THE STEERING WHEEL SEIZED. AS A RESULT, THE CONTACT WAS UNABLE TO STEER THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE SEALS WERE CORRODED AND THE POWER STEERING JOINT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE WHEEL NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED; HOWEVER, THE REPAIR DID NOT CORRECT THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V604000 (SUSPENSION). THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 95,000.

TACOMA LEAF SPRINGS BROKEN AND NOT SUPPORTING VEHICLE. DAMAGED AND REPLACED SHOCKS AND ALIGNMENT. VEHICLE IS UNSAFE DUE TO RECALL AND POSSIBLE PUNCTURE OF FUEL TANK DUE TO DEFECTIVE LEAF SPRINGS AND CAN ALSO SEVER THE BRAKE LINES. TOYOTA IS AWARE OF VOLUNTARY RECALL BUT HAS REFUSED TO REPLACE LEAF SPRINGS EVEN AFTER ADMITTING THAT THE VEHICLE IS NOT SUPPORTED AS REQUIRED BY LEAF SPRINGS AND THAT THE SHOCKS WERE OVERUSED TO THE POINT OF FAILURE AND WERE REPLACED DUE TO THE LACK OF SUPPORT. NEW SHOCKS AND EVERYTHING EXCEPT LEAF SPRINGS INSTALLED YET TACOMA STILL BOTTOMS OUT DUE TO LACK OF PROPER LEAF SPRINGS EVEN WITH NEW EQUIPMENT INSTALLED. TOYOTA CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE CENTER NOTIFIED AND REFUSED FIRST REQUEST AND SECOND FILED ON 8/4/2015 WITH CASE NUMBER 1508031434 ASSIGNED. LEVEL TWO AGENT PETER AGAIN REFUSED TO REPLACE KNOW DEFECTIVE PARTS OR HONOR RECALL AFTER BEING INFORMED THAT PARTS WERE AVAILABLE AT BOTH RIVERVIEW TOYOTA. AND EARNHARDT TOYOTA, BOTH IN MESA ARIZONA. BOTH DEALERSHIPS INFORMED ME THAT THEY ARE DIRECTED BY THE CORPORATE CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE CENTER TO NOT REPLACE ANY RECALL ITEMS WITHOUT FIRST GETTING APPROVAL REGARDLESS OF THE KNOWN DANGERS TO BOTH PERSON AND PROPERTY, OR THAT THE PART IS BROKEN AND DOES NOT PERFORM TO ACTIONS OF IT'S DESIGN. TOYOTA HAS BEEN MADE AWARE OF THE DAMAGES, SAFETY CONCERNS, AS WELL AS LOST TIME AND COSTS ($993.41IN SERVICE REPAIRS PLUS 5 LOST USE/WORK DAYS TO DATE), YET HAS REFUSED TO HONOR OR ABIDE BY THE REQUIREMENTS TO REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE EQUIPMENT.

THIS TOYOTA TACOMA SLID DOWNGRADE ON BLACK ICE AND THERE WAS NO AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT DESPITE AN END-FOR-END, BACKWARDS, DOWNHILL FLIP INITIATED AT 40 MPH, THAT CAUSED THE FULL WEIGHT OF THE VEHICLE TO IMPACT ON THE FRONT BUMPER, DISLOCATING ALL FRONT BUMPER ATTACHMENTS FROM THE FRONT CROSS MEMBER OF THE VEHICLE'S FRAME. THIS VEHICLE IS AT A SALVAGE YARD AWAITING ACTION BY THE INSURANCE CARRIER... UPDATED 12/17/14 *BF

WE HAVE BEEN HAVING TROUBLE WITH MY 2008 TOYOTA TACOMA TRUCK WITH THE ENGINE REVVING WHEN WE FIRST START IT UP. WE TOOK IT TO THE DEALER. THEY SAID THAT THIS IS "NORMAL" LAST WEEK WE TOOK IT IN DUE TO A SAFETY RECALL NOTICE FOR SUDDEN ACCELERATION PROBLEMS THAT TOYOTA CLAIMS IS DUE TO FLOOR MATS. DEALER CUT DOWN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, REPROGRAMMED THE COMPUTER CONTROL SYSTEM, ROTATED THE TIRES. UPON PULLING OUT OF THE DEALERSHIP THE STEERING WHEEL VIBRATED (SIDE TO SIDE) AND CAR BUCKED (FRONT TO BACK) THERE WERE LOUD GRINDING AND BANGING NOISES. CAR PULLED STRONGLY TO THE LEFT. I TOOK MY FOOT OFF OF THE ACCELERATOR . INSTEAD OF SLOWING, THE ENGINE SUDDENLY REVVED UP. DUE TO ONCOMING TRAFFIC ON BOTH SIDES OF US, I FOCUSED ON STEERING US OUT OF TROUBLE BY KEEPING US IN OUR LANE. I DID NOT APPLY BRAKE. I HAD THOUGHT THAT WITHOUT GAS, THE CAR WOULD GRADUALLY SLOW DOWN ON ITS OWN. INSTEAD OF SLOWING THE ENGINE REVVED UP! TRUCK SUDDENLY LURCHED 90 DEGREES TO LEFT, JERKED STEERING WHEEL OUR OF MY HANDS VEHICLE LURCHED INTO THE ONCOMING TRAFFIC LANE, WHOLE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE TIRE ASSEMBLY CAME OFF AND HEADED ONE WAY AND THE TRUCK WENT THE OTHER. WE WERE THROWN FORWARD, DOWN AND TO THE RIGHT. THE VEHICLE KEPT MOVING UNTIL WE CRASHED INTO CONCRETE ENTRANCE/EXIT OF DEALERSHIP. I PUT ON EMERGENCY BRAKE. DEALER SAYS "SIMPLE HUMAN ERROR MECHANIC FORGOT TO TIGHTEN BOLTS ON TIRE" I THINK THIS GOES WAY BEYOND A TIRE PROBLEM. THEY MESSED WITH COMPUTER CONTROL SYSTEM AND THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. I CAN'T SEE HOW TIRES CAUSE ENGINES TO REV UP. UPDATED 01/28/11 *BF UPDATED 02/07/11 *TR